Airway traffic controlling system



Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PRESTON El' AL AIRWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEM Original Filed March 51. 1944 FIG.. 1.

17 Sheets-Sheet 1 FLCHT PROGRESS BOARD FD( A FIXE CHECK DISPLAY UNsT FltNo. PropTme Al. Dr.

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Dec. 26, 195o N. D. PRESTON ETAL AIRWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEM Y 6| y DRK-n I mA-:5 :7 A. 60 5 3 To AH Fm Panels .1., j l I 17 Sheets-Sheet 2 lcarors Fliqm Numer man for' Flqm Tracing and Monuu Mge-Oui' N.D.Pre5+cn und EBHchcocK +1515 Arramvsv Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PREsToN ETAL AIRWAY TRAFFIC coNTRoLLrNG srsTEM 17 Sheets-Sheet 25 original Filed March 31. 1944 INVENToRs ND Preaon and EB. H'nchcook BY MM mw THEIR ATTORNEY Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PRESTON la'ru.Y 2,535,954

AIRWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SY: TEM

Original Filed March 5l, l1944 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Incomnq Wmeou? For Panel "MM www,

THEIR A TTURNEY Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PRESTON Erm. l 2,535,954

AIRWAY 'TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEM Original Filed March 51,` 1944 17 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG 4l l /GI A-PB we "Lren |60 L: B a 7S GZ Ti *i I BP I AP 66 ...Lt-L 74 CNB 64: G5* 67 e4 I IH l l I n Y l PRRG) i v :i l 3E I I Comuni' I Flx A Fix B I l, Q. ',Ar.. Il, o. [/1 INVEI-VTORS I f NDPresTou and EBHchcock l d l Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PRsToN r-:rAL 2,535,954

` AIRWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEM 26, 1950 N. D. PRESTON Erm. 2,535,954

AIRWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEM Original Filed March 31, 1944 17 Sheets-Sheet 7 v Av-rjf. oTR op 43a -6h55 Ifl 1:.1 TI

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IRWAY TRAF'FICMCONTROLLING SYSTEM Original Filed March 31. 1944 17 Sheets-Sheet 8 Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PRESTON ETAL.

` AIRwAY TRAFFIC coN'rRoLLrNG sYs'rm original Filed March :51. 1944 17 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVE'NTORS NDPresrQn und F B H1Tohcook THE/R ATTORNEY .I UP IDI N ngnmvm v w ,w 92.52.590 Id onwuwmo EL was. nrwwwnmvmumo l..

Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PRESTON ETAL AIRWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SY: TEM

Original Filed March 51. 1944 17 Sheets-Sheet 10 .Umdi o woman nEsz EE utwoioP INVENToRs NDPmTon ond FHiTchcock BV 7 d @Miu THEIR /lToR/VEY Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PRESTON Erm. 2,535,954

AIRWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEM4 Original Filed March 51, 1944 1T Sheets-Sheet 11 F|G\.10. i nx-J l I rlx-K F\x-| 1 Flx-M 1 Fna-N :HECK DISPLAY SCHEDULE POSTING SPACE INI/Els/ ToRs ND. Presi n und EBHVfohcock f a/Mm 26, 1950 N. D. PREsToN Erm.

Aiawn TRAFFIC coNTRoLLNG SYSTEM Original Filed March 51, 1944 1'7 Sheets-Sheet l5 LPO n ncun- TV Low 2h21 l f. an -n Tuscan gufo OP IN VEN TORS N DPreSTon und EBHHchoock .WHQL

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THEIF ATTORNEY Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PRESTON Erm.

AIRwAY TRAFFIC coNTRoLLrNG SYSTEM .original Filed March 51. 1944 J 7 Sheets-Sheet 14- ilrm EL@ m mm 52 TH IR ATTORNEY 17 Sheets-Sheet l5 Dec. 26, 1950 N, D. PRESTON Erm.

AIRWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSEM Original Filed March 31, 1944 nvVENToRs NDPr zson and FBHTchccok MM. Ww

THEIR ATTORNEY Dec. 26, 1950 N. D. PRESTON Erm.

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AIRWAY TRAFFIC coNTRoLLzNG SYSTEM Original Filed March 51,4 1944 17 SxeetEs-Sheet 1'? 'DB H FTR R Y sa FIG. 18. A5 Panel IOBE/ 230 1.-' I De+ecto| Time Annuale INVENToRs NDPreson and FB. Hitchcock.

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PSTR 1 'HL-IR ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 26, 19504 AIRWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTE] l Neil D. Preston and Forest B. Hitchcock, Roche ster, N. Y., assignors to General Railway Signal Company, Rochester, N. Y.

Original application March 31, 1944, Serial llo.

Divided and this application Januz ry 16, 1946, Serial No. 641,588

sumed that every plane operating on the regular airways (except at certain excluded low altitudes) will be required to have a suitable authorization or clearance from a traffic control center to fly at allocated altitudes between'designated fixes at certain scheduled times, and that the progress of each flight will be shown by communicating with the control center in some suitable manner, the usual form of overtime report giving the identication of such plane and its time and altitude as it arrives at or passes over each of the fixes in its route.V

The primary object of this invention is to provide a system forfacilitating and safeguarding the scheduling of flights and issuance of clearances, in order to permit prompt, accurate and complete advance planning of flight schedules so as to avoid congestion at terminals and the like and to maintain a suitable time or space separation between flights in the interests of safety.

Considering generally the contemplated organization and plan of operation of the system embodying this invention, and without attempting to define the nature and scope of the invention, it is proposed to provide a flight progress board in the traflic control center on which electrically operable changeable indicators may be set by suitable manual and automatic control so as to display the desired data of flight identidcation, estimated time, altitude, direction and the like forfiight schedules which have been authorized by issuance of suitable clearances, the data of such scheduled flights as it is posted on this flight progress board being kept up to date and changed to show the progress of each flight by operating time indicators to display the overtime as reported for each x and also automatically wiping out the entire posting belonging to the flight in question for the next fix in the rear.

It is proposed to provide for use with such a flight progress board suitable manual or` automatic control means` for setting up and vdisplaying, preferably in check display units .1 associated with the respective fix panels of the flight progress board, the data for a proposed orftentative flight plan or schedule,`vincludingan. estimated 54 Claims. (Cl. 177-353) time of arrival of this flight at the established fixes in the proposed route as determined in a. suitable manner b3 manual or automatic calculation. Before suc i tentative or proposed flight schedule is approved and posted on the flight progress board, th( estimated time and altitude as proposed for ea :h fix in the route has to be visually .or autom itically checked against the times and altitudes posted for all of the prior scheduled flights in such a manner as to detect any conflict in tirr e and altitude at these fixes, and also for each interval between such fixes, thereby determinin g that there is sufficient space or time separation between the proposed flight at all points of its route and all prior scheduled nights to prevent collisions if the authorized schedules are maintained. Although such features of conflict cetection maybe effected by automatic means as disclosed and claimed in the above mentioned parent application, it is thought expedient to simplify the present disclosure by omitting: the details of the automatic conflict detecting means. For this reason, the features of conflict' detection will be explained only in a general v *ay in this divisional case.

When a proposel flight schedule has been set up`and checked in this manner for time and altitude conict aid is found to be acceptable, such schedule is (ommunicated to the pilot to constitute his auth )rization to fly at the altitudes and times specifi ad. While such schedule or clearance may be 1 ommunicated to the pilot and verified in any dlsired manner, it is proposed to provide as part c f this system automatic means for converting the data of the proposed` flight schedule as approfed into a Teletype code during the operation of posting this data on the flight progress board, and for utilizing such code to transmit Teletype messages over line facilities to any desired point for communication to the pilot by radio or the like, and also to operate a local printer for whe purpose of making a printed record of each flight schedule.

It is also propose d to provide for checking such communication of each approved flight plan or.

schedule to the pii ot by having him report back `to the control cent ar by radio, telephone, or Tele- Whole or in part, for distinctly identifying the .postings on the flight progressboardrelatingto any particular flight so as to trace the route or.

schedule of that night, and for automatically Fig. 2 illustrates a. flight operators control board having manually positioned dials, buttons and keys as Well as the setting dials of a calculator;

Figs. 3A, 3B, 3C illustrate the schedule and overtimef posting circuits for lcontrolling the changeablindictors oi' a typical panel included in the flight progress board;

`Fig. 4 illustrates the sequence circuits for determining the sequence of conflict detection and posting as betweenthe different x panels of the fiishtprogress yhoard FigsiirAahdufBlillustrate the apparatus and 'f circuits-employe v:for converting the data of a :scheduledilightA into vTeletype code for operation Lof alocal-Teletype printer for record purposes and vfor:operation*of a-fzfremote Teletype printer for posting the overtimes and performing the tfipeout function in the rear in response to Teletype c'cesl;` together with variousv other auxiliary Vleatures designed to --speedupland facilitate the 'automatic and the manual operations-of `the system.

'AnV important characteristicof' the system of this' 'invention' asa Whole is`that all of the` parts and"circ'uits lhave' been" specially arranged "and vorganized to provide'for positive actuation of 'the changeable indicators and other Imovable elements in the system' in responseE to ythe energize.-v

a bad contacter brokenfwire;theposting operation then'y in progress ceases, andthere is anabnormal stalling of the system at once manifesting thai-apparatus failure. Similarly, thetime 'and altitude automatic conflict detecting means (disclosed in the parent application*referredv to above) hasbeen' 'organized so as to cause' the energization ctv-'relays only if certaincircuits are-intact and lno vconilict existsgratherthan `close the circuits when there is a'con'dition'r of'coni'lict;r and' hence -a'bad contact or a vbroken wire does not 'create a i false and dangerous condition,"but rather Va condition of failure'on the side of safety.

` vOther attributes, voperating characteristics, and

'advantages ofthe system of this inventionk will be in partk apparent, and in part'pointed'out `as the description progresses.

Indescribing the invention in detail',l reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which similar letter reference characters are used to designate similar parts throughout the various llg'ures, in Which'like'letter lreferencecharacters have been made generally distinctive by the `use ofidistinctive preceding or succeeding-numerals,

and in which:

I Fig. I1 Villustrates a* flight' progress board Aorgan vlied in' accordance with the 'present invention for displaying proposed and scheduled flight data' `b the setting of changeable indicators;

' Fig. 1A illustrates the organization of a plane identification` panel;

communication with a pilot or intermediate radio operator;

IFig. 6 shows in diagrammatic and table form a typical Vsc'lidu-Ieclearance message produced l.by

thefschedulecode transmitterofaFigs. 5A and 5B;v

` Fig? showsfin'afdiagrammatic and tablefform a typicalschedule wipe-outf-me'ssage' produced by the scheduleccde transmitter' of :FigsfA' 'andi 5B vYFigsfA and`*`-8Billustrate vtheapparatus and circuits employed for automatically :posting overtime reportsfaslreeeivetl':overY Tletype'linei facilities;

' 'Fig'. `Qsho'ws in: diagrammaticiand .table form a' typical overtime"message-receivedV overI the Teletype 'facilities' and usedV in fautomatic overtime posting in connection with=fFigs; 8A fand 8B;

l:Figi l'oillustrates `th'eY"arrangement of `panels and thenecessary-modificationof'thecircuits vfor thef'control of the' direction* indicators lwhen the airways for a control."areaiorsector involves converging Ea'ri'df/,or divergin'gfroutes;

"Fig I1 I showsiin' I:written circuit form theecircuits vforfthe relays .FA lfor' afpluralityfof'fix panels; fFig. 12 illustrates l' the structural'c organization of :the sel-f''restoring 'f'd-i'als-V- proposed tov be employed cn-'the 'controlrboard ini accordance with the.v present invention;

Ailiig. 13 yillustrates in simplified form thecircuits for a "pluralityfnf ..registration spaces k.of a v fix panelito'sh'ow morefc'learlythe manner of vacant space's'election' employed in. Figs; v3A,- 3B vand v`3C; 142 illustrates the `circuits for) interrelating several `fix vpanelsfor effecting the automatic Wipeeout of- .th'eight schedule" at the:i next fix panel in the-rear. of the" fixpanelfwhere-an overtime reportlfr that 'flight islasttposted; yrlFig. tfillustrates a modification-ofy circuits yfor interrelating several "x"pai`rels --for :automatic wipe-out of. the flight schedule at allxipanels in the rear :of:the'fix'panlwhere an overtmereport. for f that flight4 is" 'last aiposted;

v xligs.Y 16A 161i` illustrate theA structure: of 1' a changeableaindicatcr as .proposedri-crf me inv connection with'the'fsystem ottlie presenty invention;

lig.l V1'? shows `aidiagram of' the systemorganizationjthelines of this-diagram# merely 'indicating.functional1inteirelatiorisL rather than any. actualcircuits;-i and 1 l 'FigJ lfi'llustratesitherelationnel? the: conflict detectioncontrol circuitsto s'the'fpostingaorganizati'onk fori' one stypicalfxfpanel. Y -In orderf` totxfacilitte `12uunderstandingofthe operation'of the system,` and-asia.' matter of 'con- `'veniencefinj?'illnstratin'gr af specific embodiment of the invention i'n the"y accompanying drawings,J the xelaysvandcircuits 'aparticularlyf relating to the .difierenti functions orfistepsiln' fthexoperatiorr o! the system have been shown separately by themi the relays, scanners, and various other component devices of the system have been illustrated in a diagrammatic or conventional manner in the drawings, the contacts of relays in some instances being shown at different places than the operating coils or windings. Likewise, arrows with the symbols or are used to indicate connections to opposite terminals of a suitable battery or other convenient source of operating current.

, In connection with the nomenclature used in the description of the system of this invention, it will be noted that like letters will be employed to denote apparatus of similar functions and that preceding numerals in general will designate the registration space of a fix panel with which such apparatus is associated while a following or succeeding numeral will designate the digit or element of that space. Also, for facilitating an understanding of the system, the letters A, B and C are respectively assigned to three successive fixes of an airway and the use of these letters preceding a reference character denotes that the associated device belongs to the fix designated by such preceding letter. -There are of course certain exceptions to this general organization of reference character assignments in order to maintain simplicity in the use of reference characters for such a complex system.

GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM 3 Before considering in detail the contemplated operation of the system and describing typical examples of such operation, it would appear to be expedient to indicate some of the more signincant component parts and make a brief survey of the general organization of the system diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. ll'.

Flight progress board- The night progress board may be said to be the predominant element of the system and the one with which the other component parts are operatively associated. For the purpose of simplifying the drawings, the invention has been shown applied to a small portion or sector of one airway comprising radio fixes or markers conveniently identified by letters A, B and C; but it should be understood that the invention may be applied to any desired number of 4nxes and to various arrangements of airways as will be discussed more indetail later.

The flight progress board comprises a plurality of nx panels, one for each nx; and Fig. 1 illustrates such panels for the three nxes A, B, and C of the simplined airway layout assumed. Each of these nx panels comprises a schedule posting portion, and a group of changeable indicators for proposed night plans, conveniently termed check display units. The posting portion of the nx `panel comprises a number of horizontal rows or tiers of electrically operable changeable indicators, the number of rows depending upon the density of tranc and the maximum number of flightschedule `postings required at any given time. The check display unit for each nx panel comprises a single row of similar changeable indicators.

'The changeable indicators in each horizontal row or registration space in a nx panel are operated electrically by manual or automatic reselected indicating positions to Vdisplay the defsired letter or iigu re to represent the signincant data for a night plm or schedule. As illustrated,

the flight data in u posting space comprises: (a) night identification by numbers, or combinations of letters and num' iers, shown for two digits only; (b) estimated sch iduled time at the nx in question provided by fl ur indicators to give the time the nx panels sho` vn by one indicator exhibiting.

an arrow symbol or equivalent; and (e) arrival or overtime at the nx in question as reported by` the pilot and indie ated by two indicators in minutes and tens of n inutes. that four digits oi overtime could be provided if desired.

The check displ; ly unit includes the same typeg of indicators, and for the same data groups except for overtime; and the indicators for the night number, and for the time and altitude are preferably arranged in the same vertical column with correspondirg indicators in the schedule posting portion 01T the nx panel. I'he various vertical columns of indicators are identined by suitable markings on the panel.

It is contemplat ed that a suitable plane identincation panel suc i as shown in Fig. 1A, will be associated with tl'. e night progress board to display on removable display cards, or by suitable remotely controlled changeable indicators, the cruising speed, tlre airline, type of plane, personnel and other iesired pertinent data relating to the particular night to which a given night number as used 01x the night progress board has been arbitrarily assigned. In other words, it is contemplated thai` the night identifying number appearing in the postings of flight schedules will not be the compete registration number of a plane, but some number chosen to designate` a,

night having a scl ledule; and the complete registration number of the plane, name of pilot, cruising speed and any other ydesired item of informationis obtained b 1 referring to the plane identincation panel. of course, optiona but serves to reduce the number of indicators required on the night progress boardto represen; all of the desired information with respect to tl 1e nights, more particularly it removes the cruising speeds from the night progress board. In s alecting the night numbers to be assigned to thi: different nights, it is assumed that the night cperators for diierent controlk areas will cooperate to use like numbers for regularly scheduled flights passing through a plurality of control areas. l

Changeable ind cators-Various types of indicators may be us ed in the circuit organization constituting this invention, such as disclosed for example, irl the application of O. S. Field and S. N. Wight, Serial No. 489,776, filed June 5, 1943, now Patent No. 2, 378,294, dated June 12, 1945, in which the indicat ng drum and position contacts of each unit are c perated from a driven shaft by energization of ar electro-magnetic clutch.y Another form of self-propelled indicator unit, the

same as shown .n our copending application,` Serial No. 617,504, nled September 20, 1945, now Patent No. v2,4813 B0, September 12, 1949,y is illusf trated in Figs. 16A to 16F, and comprises an indicator drum 5 (nee Fig. 16A) mounted to turn` on a vertical axis supported in the lower frame member 6 of the indicator unit. The'numbera Itis to be understood ',his proposed arrangement is,vk 

